Did you know there are only a few patterns used on the piano? For example, there's the arpeggio, the bass-chord technique, crossed hands, and of course, the ostinato.

What's so special about the ostinato pattern? It's very easy to use! We take a chord (or an arpeggio) and create a loop with it. This allows the right hand to freely improvise melody. Even a complete beginner can get a simple chord pattern down. For instance, in the lesson "Winter Scene," we have 2 chords. Just 2 chords is all we need to create a very pleasant harmonic background over which we "paint" our melodies!

It doesn't have to get more complicated than this for an absolute beginner (or pro) to experience the joy of improvisation. The chords used for this lesson are modern sounding and are used frequently in both jazz and new age piano music. We take this four-note chord and break it up creating a lovely textural sound. We vary the dynamics (loud and soft) to make our playing more musical and from this we get 2 or more minutes of music!

It's all done with chords. Chords and phrases. Actually, "Winter Scene" is simply a 4-bar phrase repeated a number of times. By thinking "in phrases" the improviser/composer learns how to use the art of repetition and contrast to advantage. No longer thinking in just chords, it becomes easier to block out entire sections of music quickly and easily!